Stuck in the P3P
by soldier against the numbers
Summary: You know FeMC. But let's give her a name. Minako Arisato, that's what we'll call her. But let's have her arrive early in Tatsumi Port Island and get stuck in Tartarus. Now let's unhinge her a bit, enough to let her be "human-like". Give her an ADHD take on things, too. Oh wait, did we just make her empty inside? Well this isn't your usual P3 story. Image provided by Ippotsukou.
1. Prológos

**Dudes, I don't know. **

**I just don't fucking know anymore. **

**But this sure makes me fucking happy. Maybe I'll pull this little project through someday. PS ― am knee-deep in love for P3P.**

* * *

**STUCK IN THE P3P**

* * *

_My name is Minako Arisato. _

…

_I remember nothing. But I remember looking up at a strange green night and a strange edifice that must have lapsed in with bizarrchitecture._

_And here I am―in a giant tower filled with monsters._

_Where every single thing was real._

_I was only supposed to go to my dorm_.

* * *

I don't like being trapped. On the contrary; I _hate_ it. Normally I'm able to handle most things without anyone's help.

But then again being trapped in a rather large maze filled with monsters and something on the floor that I know that is _not _red paint (I will not say the b-word; I'll have the urge to scream) is not in the general category of "most things".

I re-tie the handkerchief around my mouth. It was a little damp from the crying, but it worked perfectly: any sound I made was muffled. I kind of had a mind to take it off because it was chafing my skin, but if I did that, I'd probably run crying/screaming/sobbing.

I don't want to take my chances. Especially if my life is on the line. _Especially_ that.

My feet make little sound; I avoid the red on the floor. I'm not wearing shoes, and I'd like to preserve my socks for a bit.

I believe I've been here for a long time, or not. I don't wear watches. They chafe against my skin too. I think it has been a while since I've been so afraid.

The only coherent thought my brain has is: _Live. Survive. Screw everything about wanting to see Mom and Dad again. __**Live, damn you.**_

And that's what I did.

* * *

My mind takes about ten seconds to process the sight before me.

"―here early... You're not listening to me, aren't you?"

My voice comes out shaky; I really should be crying right now. "Do you have any weapons on hand?"

"No..."

"Do you want to kill me?"

"My main goal is to welcome you."

"Can I hug you?" Before he can even open his mouth to reply, I've already sunk to my knees and my arms around him. My face is buried in between his neck and shoulder. I'm sighing with relief. The fear has gone away, but I don't know for how long.

_Maybe until I let go._

My body responds to this frightening sentence by pulling him tighter to me.

"You really weren't listening." His tone is kind, but it's flat. Monotone. Almost creepy. But that's not my priority here. I am not alone.

_I am not alone._

_**I am not alone.**_

I start crying.

* * *

Pharos said to take the route straight ahead and wait there―

Something makes me crane my head slowly. I listen and wait for more. Then they come, sounds of fighting, sounds of metal clashing on metal, Their cries, and the cries of a human.

I run until I reach a corner. Then I see a teenager get slammed into a wall. The sound of the impact is enough to make me flinch and cry out. I manage to stop myself, but even It doesn't notice me. It notices him, and I know for a fact that someone may die.

Maybe two.

I run over to the second human in what I feel was the worst five hours (or so) of my life.

* * *

**Reviews make me happy. At least say something about inconsistencies in grammar or spelling. That makes me happy.**


	2. Se Tésseris Imeres

**April 6th, Monday**

After the Specialized... something... something guys help me out of That One Tower, I collapsed. Well, not really, I just went weak in the knees. I had to be brought to the hospital, along with the guy that broke his ribs.

At least I _think_ it was his ribs that broke. Can't be sure. I'm not exactly an x-ray machine.

I broke nothing, but I had to be checked for any sign of damage, internal or external.

I think I aged a few years in what the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (ha! I got it) calls Tartarus. I ain't ever going back there, and not just because of the gray hairs. That place had kindled fear in me that I do not wish to revisit, and it actually beats my nightmares, the reenactments, the replays of The Night from ten years ago.

Nothing ever beats my nightmares of my parents's death. _Ever._

Those who came to save me, there were only two of them: The Guy who broke his ribs (I'm just assuming here), and The Girl who hauled The Guy to an "access point" and also had me follow her to the entrance.

I actually wanted to rip the doors off their hinges and run like there was no tomorrow. But I stayed, simmering in my thoughts until _bam,_ my legs failed me.

The Girl had been demoted to Orange Girl, because her hair looked a little orange to me, and there was another girl I saw at the entrance. She was friendly to The Guy and Orange Girl. I started thinking of her Violet Girl, because it was a little catchier than Red Girl. I still can't tell which color her hair leans to.

I don't really care. I'm in the ambulance now, away from The Tower, with The Guy. He's on a cot. I breathe heavily into my palms and rub them briskly. The panic is going away, but there's no comfort. I'm a mess, inside and out. To what extent, I don't know.

I don't want to know.

I don't want to know.

I just don't want to know.

I remember I had my earphones with me the entire time in The Tower. I put them on and listen to some upbeat music. Soon enough I'm relaxing.

It doesn't take away all the fear, though.

* * *

**April 7th, Tuesday, Early Morning**

Surprisingly enough, I make it for Day One of Tatsumi Port Island life. Or maybe _not_ surprisingly enough; the doctors just said I was under a lot of stress and needed some time off. Violet Girl brought me a spare uniform (plus shoes and socks, whoa!). She told me to grin and bear it for a while, then return to the Iwatodai Dorm and take it easy.

My words of gratitude came out as questions, but she didn't seem to mind. Truth be told, I felt like sleeping in a day... or five. ...Or fourteen.

_Knock knock. _"It's Yukari. Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

Yukari's a pretty girl, nice to look at, and has these cute brown eyes that make me want to pinch her cheeks like an old yet surprisingly-strong-for-her-age grandmother. She's my age, and she's all ready in her school uniform.

… Are we actually allowed to deviate from the school uniform? I would have worn an sweater vest over a dress shirt if I knew it was alright.

She comes into my hospital room, dressed the same way as last night. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school." At my blank look, she explains Mitsuru-senpai was Violet Girl (not in her exact words).

"Are you ready?"

It's nice of Mitsuru-senpai-san to have also brought me a school briefcase with all the essentials. If she's prepped me up for this, then I guess I best not waste this. It's just school, right? Nothing can go wrong. Just a little bit of normalcy is fine.

"Ready." I pick up the bag and leave with Yukari.

We take the New City passenger train―a nice-looking monorail called "Anehazuru". Yukari tells me some things about the school, such as it being on a man-made island. The school is right in the middle. After stopping at Port Island Station, we'll walk the rest of the way.

It's fun. Really fun.

…

"...Not fun."

This is the place where I got stuck in That One Tower.

Yukari looks at me. Then she walks over and puts her hands on my shoulders. She pushes. I don't budge. "I'm not going in there."

"Tartarus doesn't appear in the daytime. You're fine."

_What if we're not? _I ask myself. _What if They pop out while I'm in the middle of a lecture?_ But I'll take her word for it. Nobody looks as if they just got mauled by a monster.

"If something happens, please come save my poor arse."

I hear Yukari sighing in an I-don't-have-time-to-deal-with-your-antics kind of way. "Will do." It's halfhearted. She stands firm on the belief that I will not get stuck in The Tower.

She pushes me in.

* * *

**April 8th, Wednesday.**

Shuji Ikutsuki looks like a female, if you looked at him from behind. He's got this weird-but-reliable feeling about him. His smile is amiable and reassuring, but his puns royally _suck_. And that's saying something. He's at the dorm to welcome me, _Oh how kind_.

"Now, I have heard that you were rescued by the SEES last night."

He's quiet, watching me. I tell him that's true.

"Then have you told anyone about Tartarus?" he asks me.

"No sir. I was told not to."

"Feel free to ask me questions." He smiles, and I turn to him for all the answers to the questions in my head.

Tartarus is the correct term for That One Tower. Gekkoukan morphs into Tartarus while the Dark Hour goes on. The Dark Hour is "a time period hidden in between one day and the next". Neither SEES not Ikutsuki-san knows why I got stuck in Tartarus, but they assure me they'll keep tabs on me. The monsters are called Shadows. The SEES exists to fight them, thereby protecting the city from getting mauled by those Shadows. There are some Shadows that can leave Tartarus, and those are the more powerful of their kin. So far the SEES only extends to Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, and Akihiko Sanada―all of the people who came to rescue me. Shuji Ikutsuki-san is the Chairman of the Board for Gekkoukan High School. (He also can't summon a Persona.)

"... I'd like to ask you something. A favor, if you will."

I say nothing, neither saying yes nor no, because I doubt my own strengths at this point.

"You have the potential to fight alongside us. You have the strength to call upon what distinguishes us from everyone else―you can summon a Persona.

"But exactly how deep your potential is, we're not sure. But this is a favor I ask. Can you do this?"

My eyes settle on Yukari. She's silent. Her eyes speak of something. She's unsure of this.

"I'm not very sure, sir. I'd hate to be impolite, but I don't want to see that tower again, ever. I've already had my fair share of frights. I can't do what you want me to do. Or rather, don't."

I see something flicker in his eyes. Impatience? Frustration?

He sighs. "We won't force you to do something you can't agree to. The offer stays open, though. Just talk to Mitsuru if you change your mind."

I tell him I will, but in my mind, I think differently_. I will not go back to that hellhole. _

_I. _

_Will. _

_Never. _

_Go. _

_Back._

* * *

**April 9th, Thursday, Dark Hour.**

_Click,_ goes the rooftop door. I run out, naginata in hand, though I don't go too far from Yukari. I hear her sigh, my eyes settle on her pink jacket. She turns, and I see relief on her face. "The door's locked. I think we're safe for now..."

_Uh, wait, aren't we in undefended territory?... OH SHI―_

I neither predicted nor anticipated this: a dark hand grips the ledge of the building. A blue mask is held up by another equally dark hand. The mask looks around, then settles on two defenseless-looking young ladies, one with a naginata, and another with a gun in a holster.

Well _damn_ those things for picking on weak links.

More hands clutch the ledge, more hands unsheathe swords, _shinggg,_ and when I get treated to a full view of out assailant there are no sheaths on its body. It's just a mass of arms and hands and swords, with one blue mask as its head.

... Gross.

"You gotta be kidding me! It climbed up the wall...!"

_Well,_ yes, _Yukari. It climbed up a wall. It's a _total mystery,_ how it could have gone up here. Whose idea was it to get us to the rooftop?! We would have been safer with Mitsuru and Akihiko!_

I turn to unlock the door, but the Shadow pads on over to us. I can't turn my back on it. From what I've learned from sixteen years of watching action movies, I cannot turn my back on an enemy.

I hold out the naginata in front of me in a pathetic attempt to scare it. It's all an exercise in futility. The Shadow is immensely powerful. There's only one Persona-wielder around here. I am no more than a snack with a toothpick.

... Do Shadows _have_ teeth?

"―summon mine... No problem..."

At this, I almost cry, but the only thing I cry out is a shrill "_YUKARI!_" as my companion is blasted back with a fire-based attack. The gun―her Evoker―skids across the concrete and comes to rest near my feet.

For a moment, my mind blanks. My heart rate speeds up. I don't know what I'm doing. It's like some kind of force has taken control of my body. Like another stream of blood is rushing in and taking over. The gun is in my hands―_I _know_ where this is going―_I put a hand to my heart; I can feel the throbbing through the layers of fabric.

The nozzle of the gun is at my temple.

―_No, wait, stop_―

"Per... so... na..."

I've already pulled the trigger.

My nightmares flare up in one second before my eyes, and then they shatter like glass.

I'm clutching my head in one hand, Yukari's Evoker in the other. I'm on my knees, no, my shins now; I summoned a Persona, hu-_freaking_-zah.

_"Thou art I... and I am thou..."_

Pain, pain in my head as the exhaustion hits and my world flips like tables in rage comics. I fall to my knees. Something pulses, and I feel that whatever I conjured... let's restructure that to: my Persona Orpheus implodes in on itself and changes into another Persona.

The new Persona screams, as though it's dying. It makes my skin crawl. It's a black blur, with gray, or maybe silver hands. There are coffins spread around its form, almost like the tail feathers on a peacock.

This is Thanatos.

Are Personas genderbends of the mythical figures which they are named after? Or is that just me? Because, you know, I heard Orpheus and Thanatos, and they don't _sound _male.

Once I get over the initial shock of having a figure of death as a Persona, he/she morphs back to Orpheus, having beaten the Shadow into a bloody pulp before it disintegrated. All I can think about this is _I will never hear the end of it from SEES._

The adrenaline rush recedes, as does the strength, the new force that ran through me. I allow myself a breath of air. It hitches as I hear Yukari scream.

"―It's still moving!"

And I do see that Thanatos never really finished off the Shadow. There's two of them. Blobs. Blobs with masks similar to the parent Shadow.

I'm very close to lampshading on how useless she is, until I realize I'm holding her Evoker. I have a horrible arm, so I charge into the fray, ignoring the protests of my body and the fact that I can barely think straight.

"No... G-Get away from me!"

I use the naginata. I slash, the two claw at me. I feel so woozy. My legs are shaking already. _Orpheus, Thanatos, whoever you are―help me. Help me, please._ At one point, I drop my weapon and trade it for an Evoker. The faster the Shadows die, the better.

Orpheus smacks the Shadows on the head with her harp. They disintegrate in a show of reds and blacks. I collapse once my doubts are settled about our safety.

_I swear to God, if I_ ever_ do that again, I will shoot myself with an actual gun._


	3. Veloúdo

**Note: **School festivals are awesome.

**Note:** I really need to start a new game so I can ask Theo out (not on a request, though)

**Note:** I'm just going to put this out for everyone to see, but this fic was not primarily used as an attempt to try and humanize Minako, but an attempt to put a commentary to this game called Persona 3 Portable. With my mind voice. So yeah. This was all made to provoke laughter, or at least illicit a smile from the readers. If I haven't done so, consider me a failure. Or consider yourself humorless. Whatever works.

**Note:** See if you can spot a reference from Hiimdaisy's Ryojiventures.

**Note:** Gimme some feedback you guys. I really want to hear from you. Also, infinite thanks to Uninspiredname, hee7, TheImperfectDarkOne, Anon Fanfic Reader, Foxofspades, and everyone who Follows this baby right here.

* * *

**April 9th, Thursday, Dark Hour**

I could seriously live in the Velvet Room, I tell Igor, and he cracks a grin so wide I can clearly see how his face is going to look when it splits in half.

_...Creepy... _

Igor's an old balding man with an unhealthy-looking pallor and a schnoz as long as my shin. He's still really creepy though. Really. His eyes are bad enough. They're wide as dinner plates, bloodshot little things, but I make eye contact anyway, because he's quite the gentleman and reminds me of the best teachers I have had for a good portion of my life. He calls himself the Master of the Velvet Room, which is coincidentally the place where I am enjoying my stay.

_This chair is even better than the massage chairs I used to see in furniture catalogs_, I think to myself, and it's true. I can feel my fatigue leaching away from my body, as if this velvety blue piece of concentrated genius-turned-furniture was a Dia spellcaster. _I want to live here ASAP._

We talk, about my Persona, Orpheus, and what the implications of having her around are, Thanatos (Igor's just as stumped as I am―or at least I _think_ he is―about this), the contract I signed―

_But I didn't sign a contract...!_

I point this out to the Master, and all he gives me in reply is a sheet of paper, blue in the light coming off the chandelier, but I can still read the single most important string of words that could potentially make or break my life.

"_I chooseth this fate of my own free will."_

"Igor, this isn't my handwriting." Eyes locked on to the paper, I can hear nothing from the Master that indicates he is offering up a rebuttal to the chopping board. He just tells me that it was signed with my name, therefore I must take responsibility.

I immediately refuse, seeing as how I'd never even seen these words in my life before this very moment. Who would sign my name on a contract so important-looking as this? Well, all contracts look important with their weighty paper and their confusing words and their seals and all that crap, so yeah. The point is: who would want to use my name on a contract and why?

"Who gave you this?" I ask him.

"It manifested in the Velvet Room not long after it was signed. No one gave it to me in particular."

"So who forged this thing?" I ask, holding up the sheet of important paper.

Igor clears his throat. "I believe this is yet another question you must answer for yourself. Please, take this." A key appears, and I stretch out a hand to take it. I put it in a pocket in my skirt.

"From here on, you will be able to access the Velvet Room with that Key. Until then, farewell."

"Bye."

I meet the change of scenery with no resistance as everything fades away; the last thing I see is a gloved hand waving at me. I wave back.

* * *

**April 21st, Tuesday, Evening**

I would consider it funny if a person were slung over another person's shoulder like a potato bag and the potato-bag load would be kicking and screaming for the rest of the trip.

I do not consider it funny now.

"Akihiko-senpai?"

"Hm?"

"Please put me down."

The reply is instantaneous. "No."

I groan out loud. My head lolls to the side, limp. I cannot find the words to describe how mortifying and utterly humiliating this is for me, to be hauled around over a shoulder―_and holy crap this guy hasn't even faltered since picking me up_―and brought to The Tower. (I must add that I am in pajamas at the moment.)

Yes, the Tower, and yes, I just described this moment, in perfect contrast to what I had said beforehand.

My life just sucks.

I can hear Junpei being the fresh meat of the team in a textbook manner. Akihiko-senpai's voice rumbles. "It's almost time."

And then the world turns an interesting shade of green.

_SEES, I hate you _so _much._

The world trembles, and my inner curiosity drives me to take a closer look at that's happening. I just ignore the feeling of the blood rushing to my head and look past Akihiko-senpai to see Gekkoukan High restructuring itself.

And there it is, an upside-down stalagmite, with the crescent moon as its crown, all pale greens and luminescent blues against a green sky. I can't help but realize that Gekkoukan is a fitting name for this place, even now, as Tartarus.

…Junpei's right, it _does_ sound like toothpaste.

I hear the rest of SEES talking, but all I'm doing is waiting around and hoping that Akihiko-senpai puts me down because too much blood in the head is really very uncomfortable.

I feel an arm wrap around my back, another arm wrap around my thighs. My feet touch the pavement again, _Oh solid ground, how I have missed thee._ Before I can turn away to run somewhere, anywhere, Sanada-senpai grabs me by the back of the collar of my shirt―_ow my untied hair―_and drags me into Hell.

_Fuck you guys and your sense of heroism._

* * *

**April 21st, ,Tuesday, Dark Hour**

"I've been waiting for you. The time has come to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into... How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not capable of answering these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power.―" And sadly my ears are plugged as I listen to this very enigmatic semi-speech about me having to go The Tower, more aptly known as Hell. I shuffle backwards the way I came, and pivot on my heel to open the door.

…

…

…...

It's stuck.

Igor's gone silent. I turn around, imagining a pissed-off Master of the Elevator, but all I get is a blank look.

"You can't run and you can't hide either. You must do this."

I blink. He sounds pretty concerned, even for for a newbie who can barely keep out of (supernatural) trouble.

"Why?"

"It is in the cards. You have been allotted a year, and a great change is approaching. You cannot simply avoid this. You may end this one way or the other. I will support your decisions, whatever they may be, because of the Contract. I am bound to you and you are bound to me, as you are bound to Orpheus.

"...You have seen the butterfly, no?"

And then _boom,_ epiphany. A blue butterfly, so small I can hold it in my hands, beating its bright wings in eternal shadow. _Little Fool. Sweet, sweet little Fool, listen to him._

I blink once, twice.

"Whu?"

Igor chuckles at my show of intelligence. He looks up at the giant clock on the iron bars of the elevator's far "wall". "My spare time will soon be scarce. Please, tell me if you have any questions that need answering."

I ask him what exactly the nature of my power is, (so apparently I_ did_ listen to a bit of what Igor initially told me) and he says that my power can be comparable to the number zero, empty yet holding infinite possibilities, and some other stuff that may or may not be metaphors. Also I might not want to tell anyone about the door because I'm the only current person who's ever signed a Contract (or at least had a contract forged with my name on it) for the Velvet Room.

"― Ah, but before I forget, do you recall when I mentioned another resident of this room? Tell me, when you think of this person, what do you see?"

I can hear something in my head saying: _**THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT DECISION. YOU MUST CHOOSE WISELY. **_

"It's a... guy?"

"I see... Let's bring him out for a proper introduction." He looks right, or rather to his left, and one of the doors stationed on the sides (_Why are there doors stationed to the sides when we're in a giant rapidly ascending elevator?_) opens up.

And a hot guy in a blue suit walks over to Igor. He's holding a book as blue as the Velvet Room, and his eyes... _well hell I must be melting. What the hell brain?_

"My name is Theodore, but please, feel free to call me Theo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

This guy is smokin' hot. And more.

"My assistant will aid you as well. Until then, farewell."

And I suddenly find myself flanked by Yukari-san and Junpei-san, both of which ask me why exactly I was spacing out like that.

"Like what?" I ask, and then we relunctantly make our way into the real Hell.


	4. O Laimós Tou Sómatos-ligótero

**Note:** CHRISTMAS BREAK JAH.

**Note:** I'm gonna get a PS Vita so I can plan out the aftermath of this story. YEAHH SO EXCITED.

**Note:** Just got a New Game Plus. M'prolly gonna make a oneshot about that. JAH.

**Note:** This is just a warm-up. See you soon.

**Note:** MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS, HO HO HO.

* * *

"Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away."

I look down and see a little boy holding my hand. His hand is pale, cold. Small. Breakable. His voice is high, far from the voice I hear in my mind nightmare after nightmare.

But this isn't a dream I've had before.

He cranes his neck to look up at me, blue eyes bright against the green of the night―

_Wait, _green_?_

I look around, and true to form, the world around us in in green. The Moonlight Bridge, the skyline, the sight of Tatsumi Port Island at the far end, it's all green.

This I remember.

Oh yes, this I remember.

I'm almost too scared to look behind me. It's funny, how I can be afraid of something I've been having nightmares of ever since I had a full grasp of what had really happened.

"Look at it, my dearest."

I look at the boy. He looks over his shoulder, and I take the bait. I see it, as I have seen countless times before: A black van, with the windows blasted out from the inside. It's on its underside, amidst shrapnel and burning puddles of oil and the blood, oh god the blood everywhere.

I can see heads. Heads of dark hair, all matted and strewn with glass, behind where a windshield should have been.

My dead parents, ladies and gentlemen. Give it up for the corpses behind the wheel.

The boy with the blue eyes says something about beginnings, but I drown him out with the sound of my hysteria taken form.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ―"_

* * *

**Late Evening**

I don't scream. I've never screamed in reality, because nightmares are a common thing for me. It's just that they've not been so frequent ever since I got to Iwatodai. Which is a veritable blessing. Tartarus and SEES are equally unbearable pains in the ass. Why? We can talk about that soon enough.

Even though I'm used to getting rudely awoken by bad dreams, I still jolt awake so damn fast that a headache comes on immediately.

I set my head in between my legs, waiting for the pain to go away.

The boy was Pharos. It was him, I swear it. I could never forget such huge blue eyes. Ever.

But why did he... why was he in my dream? Was it because I was attached to him? Was it because he was the first friend I'd ever had that helped me before I could even do anything on my own?

That last one must have been it.

But there was something else. The Voice. I would hear a voice every now and then, after The Night had occurred. It whispered to me. It asked me things. It talked to me. I talked back, and naturally, my peers thought I was a few brain cells short of a sound mind. Which was why I made it a point not to ignore The Voice, but just not respond.

After I'd met Pharos, The Voice had left altogether.

Now why was that?

* * *

**Dark Hour**

It is the Dark Hour already, and I'm still not asleep. How can I? My mind is in the gutter lableled "How I Managed To Get Myself Into This Mess". I haven't even been able to close my eyes. The thoughts of all the circumstances that have brought me here to this point in time have been making me _wince_.

The most vivid (and_ painful_, don't forget painful) memories were the ones associated with SEES, most prevalently, how I became the "leader" of SEES's Shadow Strike Team.

I have thought, and it keeps me awake. I can't drown myself in music because electrical equipment doesn't _work_ in the Dark Hour. So screw you, Dark Hour. You and the misfortune you bring to me on a silver platter.

I instead drown myself in my pillow. My thoughts wander further.

* * *

All kids need a not-so-screwy upbringing so they can grow up into not-so-screwy adults.

...But for me that wasn't the case.

Since the occurrence of The Night, I've been Hot Potato-d from one relative to another. Grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins, anyone that could handle the financing I'd need to live. I worked hard. I studied. I studied because I didn't want to be something that wasn't worth their time. My grades were better than I'd expected. I was happy, and so was whoever was taking care of me at the time.

I loved that feeling.

I didn't have many friends, but that was fine. Naturally I filled the void with _log_s and wars and calligraphy and music.

The voids, while still there, didn't ache as much.

And then there were the nightmares.

They never failed to happen on a regular basis. The older I got, the more I got used to watching my family burn and die of blood loss. One of the other reasons I got passed around almost everywhere in Japan was because I kept waking up everyone within a ten-mile radius in the middle of the night.

(...I have abnormally large bags under my eyes. Just sayin'.)

I remember two additional things (or people, if you could call them that) from The Night. One was a woman. She had been a blur of blonde, gold and white. Her voice was in sharp contrast to her appearance: sharp and clear. And the other thing... yeah, I could never hope to write it off as human-looking. For lack of a better description, let's just say every time I think of it, I see Thanatos in my mind's eye.

I shudder to think what they really were.

* * *

**4/20, Monday, Evening**

I was not given a variety of choices when it came to SEES.

"I have full knowledge that you are a person. A person with your own preferences. I realize, too, that you fear Tartarus more than anything else."

_D'aww. That's so swee__―_

"But. Tartarus povides a safe haven for Shadows. These Shadows, left to their own devices, can bring about the destruction of mankind as we know it. Unless we put a stop to it, that is. You have the potential You can save humanity. You have a choice."

_Then I choose life and not what you wa__―_

"That is not the case. We will not take no for an answer, Arisato. You are now hereby a member of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad."

_THE F__―_"I do not agree to this."

Mitsuru makes my lack of choices perfectly clear in the way she ignored my protests and proceeded to toss an Evoker in my face. I fumbled to catch it; eventually I did.

"We will not hesitate to force you to join us on expeditions. All other members of SEES will keep watch over you twenty-four/seven. Every move you make will be monitored and reported to me."

_You're starting to freak me out..._

"You will not even be able to go to the restroom without me knowing."

_YEAH THIS IS CREEPY._

* * *

And lo, it was done. Yukari Takeba was my personal stalker, being the only person who could get so close with me (regrettably, I had no choice in starting up a Social Link). Junpei took me out for beef bowls at Hagakure twice a week or so (this was how I managed to rank up on _his_ Social Links and milk the shit out of him and his wallet). Akihiko-senpai was decidedly less than subtle. His fangirls, annoying as they are, are pretty good at warning me of his whereabouts.

...He more than makes up for _that_, because he's the one who hauls my ass to Tartarus.

I couldn't―and can't―tell anyone about my slavery to SEES because for everything else about not kicking Shadow ass, Mitsuru-senpai is their leader. She is a Kirijo, and screwing with a Kirijo equals inevitable death. They, in much simpler terms, own the ground I walk on each day.

SEES has trailed me everywhere, from the third floor of the dorm (again, Yukari-specific) to Port Island's Strip Mall to Gekkoukan. My only refuge is the Velvet Room.

Being brought to Tartarus has done wonders for me. _If_ you could call it that. I'm not so intimidated by Shadows anymore, but I still have that little stake of fear that provides an easy scape into my heart.

(It sucks that They can make me fear them in battles.)

At lest SEES doesn't outright _abuse _me. They're nice if you just disregard the "make you fight for humanity against your will" part and then you're all good.

* * *

**5/1, Friday, After School**

Akihiko-senpai had still been on the mend, but I'd felt it was about to change. Lately he'd been so jittery that he himself would have been able to generate enough electricity to last the dorm for a day.

He was ready for some Tartarus action.

And I was not to sit out a day of surveillance. Yukari hauled me to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital by the collar.

"Aren't you people supposed to listen to a leader? Or more specifically, _your_ leader?" I grumble to myself while rubbing the place where my blouse had chafed against my skin. "You know, instead of dragging her―"

And I had found myself face to face with... someone.

He stares, I stare, we all stare.

"...Hi?"

"Hi." I see the faint upward curve of lips. He ducks away and stalks off. I stare after him. Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari have a conversation in the hospital room next to me. Besides "friend from school", I don't pick anything up.

"Hey, Minako?"

Junpei's voice scares me out of my stupor. I make this really weird choking noise.

"Why's your face all red?" Yukari asks. She gasps. "Don't tell me...!―"

"Shut up. Just _shut up,_" I hiss, hiding my red cheeks from three pairs of confused eyes.


	5. Amíchani Stripper Iéreia

**Note: **Shout out to Persona Innocent Sin, anybody?

**Note:** I might make a homage to Mushiki no Ou, the Colorless King of K Project. Might. No wait I really want to. RIP MUSHIKI NO OU TO KIN NO OU TO AKA NO OU.

**Note: **Dudes, I love you. I'm getting more views than I have ever had before, and I am getting so many Followers and Reviewers and Favoriters that I have to say it. I am so happy you're here. I am so happy I got to make your day. I am so happy that you'll listen to me. I am so happy. So very happy.

**Note:** MUST. HAZ. PSVITA. FOR. THIS. FIC'S. SEQUEL.

**Note:** SCHOOL'S TOMORROW AND DEADLINE IS NIGH! AAAAAAAAHHHH!

* * *

**5/9, Saturday**

At least SEES has the decency to catch me in respectable clothes. Well, actually, it was all me being prepared for it. And knowing me, I would have turned tail and ran at the notice, but I'm married to the job, thanks to Father (Mother? Sister?) Mitsuru and her vows which never required input from me.

Pharos had warned me about tonight.

**5/2, Saturday, Dark Hour**

I checked my calendar in the green light streaming in from the window. "Next week's a full moon," I say. There are no other indications of any festivals or holidays or exam days. It's just the yellow circle in the middle of the box.

"Yes," he says, nodding. "Do you remember the night you awoke to your powers?"

"Not _much_..."

"It was a full moon that night."

"So the Shadows are werewolves?" I deadpan.

"More or less." He turns from me to look at the moon outside, shining so bright that it looks like a floodlight. His legs swing back and forth idly, and I sit back down on my bed. He's close enough to touch, close enough that I only needed to reach out to make contact.

His eyes lock onto mine out of the corners. Anything I would have said dies right there in my head. They're so blue. So blue...

I remember the butterfly.

"...Phi... Philemon...?"

Pharos stops swinging his legs. He's flat out staring now.

"Who's Philemon?"

"He watches over the world."

* * *

**5/9, Saturday, Dark Hour**

The alarm goes off and I jump out of bed in uniform. As I slam my bedroom door open, I catch a flash of orange and pink rounding the corner. I tail Yukari as she heads up the stairs. Junpei catches up to us in no time at all.

Yukari is the first to reach the door. She flings it open, announcing our presence.

Mitsuru tells us our opponent is at the monorail.

* * *

The mechanical doors shut in a sudden rush of air, and fear grips my insides and shoves something cold and heavy into the pits of my stomach―_I THOUGHT ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT COULDN'T WORK AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT__―_

"_What happened?"_

"It looks like we're trapped inside―"

Remember what I said about being trapped?

I run to the door we used to enter the rail car. I put both hands on the niche in the metal door and pull.

...It doesn't work.

I pull and pull and pull, but it doesn't move an inch. In a panic, I use the naginata I bought from Officer Kurosawa the other day. I stick the blade into the seam, but neither of them back down. Absolute no sell, eh?

I try to jab the butt of the naginata into the door for kicks. I was also planning to break a window, but then again, maybe Mitsuru wouldn't like that.

I ram the haft of my weapon into the door with all the force I can muster.

_BAM. _

No sell.

_BAM. _

No sell.

I scream, bringing down the sharp side of the blade on the naginata.

_CRRRRRACKK._

The force that travels up the weapon in my hands causes my teeth to rattle. I look up to see that my naginata has come to a halt on the metal. And there's more.

"The... the hell... what the hell is _ice_ doing on a _monorail door_?"

It's not just ordinary ice. It's alive, starry patterns stretching along the metal and traveling up the blade. _Bufu,_ I think to myself. _The Shadows here are Ice spell-based._

I pull away my naginata. There's still some frost on the door. I survey the damage: my naginata, sheathed in bluish-white ice. I tap it on the floor repeatedly, breaking up the ice formations on it.

"_What now?"_

Mitsuru's voice breaks the cold silence. Though clipped and businesslike, I welcome the presence. It's better than being alone with a scaredy-cat and a hero wannabe.

"I think we can't get out just yet," Yukari says to no one in particular. I'm still freeing my blade from the icy grasp of a Bufu spell.

_...I_ _feel like a freaking caveman for doing this._

"_...It must be the Shadow. You've alerted yourselvs to it!"_

I freeze mid-ice breaking. "Whoops."

"_Prepare yourselves and proceed with extreme caution!"_

"R-Roger!" Yukari stutters. Junpei herds us all out into the next car. We pass a few coffins on the way ―the humans without the potential―and I realize Mitsuru's forcing of me to join SEES was somewhat called for.

These people absolutely do not deserve the shit that goes on in this town.

I run faster.

"It's so quiet it's creepy..." Yukari starts, and then fate decides to jump scare us.

A Shadow drops down from the ceiling. Yukari squeaks out in surprise. I stumble backwards, almost bowling Junpei over.

And as fast as it had appeared, it floats away into the next car.

"Hey, get back here!" Junpei yells, scaring me out of a moment of my confusion.

"_Wait. Something's not right here," _Mitsuru says to us. _"The enemy is acting strangely."_

I'll say. At our current level, every Shadow we've encountered wants a piece of us, and mostly because our leader is a freaking pansy. That would be me.

"But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" Junpei yells.

And then there's _that_. At any moment, shit's going to hit the fan, and when that happens, I can't make any guarantees that SEES (at least this party) will live through the Hour.

"_Minako... you're in command there. What do you think?"_

_Well, Mitsuru, I'm still weighing out the pros and cons of each decision. Can you come back when I'm done? Or choose for yourself, because I have no idea how to deal with a situation of this nature? ...But then again, maybe even _you_ don't know..._

"I think we'll have to be as careful as you say. We'll have to stick together―"

"Fine! I'm going it alone! You guys just stay back and watch me beat it all by myself!" Junpei cuts in.

Junpei rushes into the next car and away from us.

You see,_ this_ is why I don't like being the leader. I talk, no one listens. I don't talk, everyone imprints their own opinions onto mine.

"Junpei! Wait!"

"...Great. Just great." I mutter to myself as I lose sight of our only muscle.

"_BEHIND YOU!"_

And then we get attacked by Shadows with books on them.

* * *

Well, you people can guess how spec-_fuckin'-_tacular _that _ended. Because, you know, we're all still alive and stuff.

* * *

I am eating pork dumplings when I come to a groundbreaking conclusion:

_50% of what Junpei says is shit. 27% involves slacking off. 13% is about chicks. 8% is about entertainment media. 2% is actually worth my time._

But at this moment I'm not sure if what he's talking about is in the 50%, the 27%, the 13%, or the 8. Or even the _2._

"Welcome to _Junpei's Believe it or Don't..._"

Either way, it ends up scaring the shit out of Yukari.

And it shows, because the next day, I end up getting fastballed into helping out with an investigation.

* * *

So, to recap:

A young girl named Fuuka Yamagishi is missing. She has not been at school for quite some time now. On paper (courtesy of an Ekoda-sensei), she'd been home sick. On school message boards, she'd been mixed up in a rumor that goes like this: her bullies had been eaten by the ghost of her restless, wandering spirit.

I would have called bullshit, but Junpei was a valued Social Link and teammate. And also, he might've actually been on to something.

I had seen one of Yamagishi's bullies firsthand. She'd been acting strange that day, talking about some voice.

If I was right, the root cause was something I might not want to look in the eye right after that close encounter with The Stripper.

(Yeah. I just nicknamed a Full Moon Shadow Boss. Yeah. ...Don't give me that look. Would you have wanted me to call it The Prostitute? No. _HELL NO_.)

On

**6/2, Tuesday**

I ask around for clues to the investigation. At the end of the day, I find nothing substantial. But on

**6/3, Wednesday, After School**

I learn that the victims of "Yamagishi's spirit" had one thing in common: they had all hung out with the bad kind of crowd. The guy I got the information from disclosed nothing more, saying he didn't want to deal with it anymore.

(On a less significant note, if I stay at school for over forty-two seconds after the last bell, my corpse will turn up the next day drenched in my own blood.)

* * *

**6/3, Friday, Evening**

Three girls + Bad crowd + Big fat mystery = BINGO

or at least that holds true for Yukari. As per usual, my opinions are ignored and as Junpei so eloquently puts it, "we're in some serious doo=doo".

I think my time here in Port Island will shave more years off my lifespan then I thought possible.

By the end of the night, Yukari, Junpei, and I are slated to drop by Slimeball Central, AKA Port Island Station Outskirts.

...I have the urge to murder Iori in his sleep...

* * *

**6/6, Saturday, Evening**

DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO DRAG ME BY THE COLLAR LIKE A FLEABITTEN DOG.

"Alright, let's get going."

I struggle against my fabric bonds. "Yu... kari―"

"What's your hurry?" Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Junpei. "I still think this is a bad idea."

"I second the motion―" I make a choking noise. _Yukari, stop pulling on my shirt collar!_

"I mean, bringing two girls there is like wandering into a lion's den with two steaks strapped to my face." Pause. "How could you be afraid of ghosts, but not be scared of this?"

I allow the two to hold some petty debate about fearing which we can and which we can't see while simultaneously choking and trying to free myself.

"...Come on, it'll be an adventure!"

_...Some adventure._

Yukari yanks my collar roughly. I have no choice but to follow her out of the door.

I hear Junpei mutter "More like a suicide mission" after us.


	6. Ta Paidiá Eínai Malákes

**Note: **Check out _we are so not scottish _if you haven't already.

* * *

**6/8, Monday, Dark Hour**

A child kicked me out of bed, shoved me through my bedroom window, and left me to run the rest of the way to Tartarus.

In my pajamas.

And with possible hemmorhage.

And with the new naginata I got from a golden chest in one of the ascensions in Tartarus.

...

And yes, I am talking about Pharos.

(_damnable brat with those huge blue eyes and that cutesy prepubescent voice_)

I force myself to open my eyes. I've scraped my hand, I think I've sprained the other. I use the side of the scraped hand to push myself up. I breathe; the journey down knocked the air out of me. No damage to my head, that's good. No blood more than whatever's pooling under my skin in response to the concrete.

I look up, anger blazing in my eyes, and I know I am because _how the hell did a child push me out of bed_ and the pain is flaring.

Pharos is there, leaning over the windowsill, not smiling.

I almost scream every last scrap of profanity I know when he does exactly what is expected of him:

"Better hurry. She's getting away," he says teasingly, face still neutral.

It sucks that he knows this as much as I do.

I crane my neck around and see the lone figure in the distance. Her gait is unsteady. The voice, her voice, is eerie, now that she's taken to mumbling dreamily

(_got to tell her I'm sorry_; _it wasn't nice of me to lock her in; sorry Fuuka no really I am sorry; sorry sorry sorry_)

I grit my teeth. We were supposed to keep her in the dorm!

"I'll get you later," I hiss at the little boy in prisoner's pajamas, and he waves me goodbye even long after I've taken off at a run onto the green night in pink shorts and a white tank top, carrying a sharp blade on a stick.

(_I will never live this down ever_)

* * *

The boys are visibly flustered when I burst into the threshold sweating and barely in proper garments.

"_Minako?_"

"EYES ON THE MOTHERFUCKERS IN FRONT OF YOU," I yell, scooping up as much of Moriyama-san as possible (which is not much, by the way) and dragging her over to a stunned Mitsuru-senpai (and yes I'm kinda happy about that).

"Yukari! Switch with me!" I call over my shoulder.

"Right―!"

_CLANG._

I finish up setting Moriyama down next to our leader. When I turn around, I see Yukari ducking under a slash attack. She runs at full speed, and the second she's behind me, I Evoke Ara Mitama and it charges the Shadow that looks more feminine than its companion. It goes down.

"_U-um!"_

I look off to the side, finally seeing a large pink glass globe-bottomed woman... and a young lady in it.

The young lady looks at me with large eyes, eyes that speak of surprise and fear and power and strength.

_"Lucia... Lucia can tell you their weaknesses! Just tell me when!"_

(_Oh you have got to be kidding me_)

"Now!" I yell. I Evoke, and have Oberon Mazio the living shit out of the Shadows.

(_LEEEEEEEEROOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIINS_)

* * *

Now it didn't take much for Fuuka to convert. Being a SEES member had its perks, and you know what that means:

Drunk parties.

...

Nah. Mitsuru would annihilate anyone attending.

But free room and board was damn good for a person without much of a roof over his head. Fuuka did have a roof over her head, and I assumed it was good, but for some reason she thought living without her parents was a lot more preferable than living_ with_ them.

But the point is that Fuuka didn't even hesitate at the big Q.

Which, to me, takes balls

(_even if she _isn't_ going on the front lines_)

* * *

**6/12, Friday, Dark Hour**

I hit Pharos in the face with my pillow when he asks to be my friend. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't cry out

(_not even a little_)

and even after my pillow has fallen back to my mattress he still looks exactly the same as before I'd whacked him in the face.

(_damnable brat_)

"...So that's a―"

"―Yes," I say quickly.

"But why...?"

"I was still pissed off about last night. I promise I won't hit you again."

He stares at me warily, eyes half-lidded. Almost as if the second he has his guard down I'd swoop in and stab him in the face.

I sigh through my teeth and shift my position so that I am leaning over my pillow, pinky extended towards the little prophet boy. I meet his gase, saying, "I swear I will never hit you ever again."

His eyes narrow. "Ever?"

"Ever."

"Never ever?"

"Never ever."

"Never ever ever―"

"_Yes, never ever ever and to infinity and beyond,"_ I hiss, grabbing his pinky finger and entwining it with my own.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating a Persona of the Death Arcana..._

And that is how I got my Death.


	7. Imeromi níes, Kakí Sef, Oi Omofylófiloi

**Note:** Support Ihavnoclue's cause to make Dollars a reality. Sign up, find him or her and check this thread:

Password is 'baccano'. ALL DRRR! FANS UNITE.

**Note:** Also, I'm planning to make the male route. With the _we are so not scottish_ Protagonist. Yes, you heard me. Also, P4G. Must... have...

**Note:** FINALS AND REALITY IS NIGH! MUST... RESIST... LONGER...

**Note:** OH MY GOD YOU GUYS I MANAGED TO SNAG NARUTO MANGA VOLUMES 54 AND 57. OH MY GOD YOU GUYS THAT SHIT NEVER HAPPENED UNTIL NOW.

* * *

**Imeromi̱níes, Kakí̱ Sef, Oi Omofylófiloi, Kai Agnoouméno̱n**

* * *

**6/23, Tuesday, Morning**

The morning's hot new topic is a revenge request website. I can't help but be intrigued by this piece of news.

...

I am a most depressing person.

* * *

**After School**

Since no one is raring to go eat beef bowls or drink coffee or do health committee with me (which is weird since I'm supposed to be tailed or kept company 24/7) I head over to the Velvet Room in hopes of a good time-killer, and sure enough there is.

I pick the line of text that says

_I'd like to visit Iwatodai Station_

and then Theo holds out his arm to take as we depart. The Master's eyes follow us all the way out the door.

I can barely stifle a giggle when I find that Theo's a bit on the old school side of things.

(_he's so cute when he's spooked_)

"I... shouldn't have any problem riding something like this, should I?"

(_he's even cuter when he's blushing_)

I gently take hold of his hand and try to help him along, but he stops me

(_sometimes i hate gentlemanlyness_)

and then escorts me onto the escalator.

"Ha! Child's play," he says when he's finally at the top. I clap at his bravery, and for the rest of out walk I hold his hand in mine as a prize.

We walk along a row of shops, leisurely and slow. I'm one of the shiftiest people I know, but for Theodore, I'll put in the effort. It's fun nevertheless, because my date's face lights up like a Christmas tree whenever he focuses on something new.

And then he stops all of a sudden, face twisting into a look of surprise... or is that alarm?

"That smell... don't tell me it's...!"

And he thusly drags me away from our course

(_theodore is the sum of all adorable things in this world like puppies little boys and wonder_)

Apparently the takoyaki vendor―who I know from visits with a Hanged Man named Maiko Oohashi―is awed at Theo knowing about the secret ingredient of their very own takoyaki. Theo is taking metaphors seriously, as he is in prompt shock about the "smile so wide your cheeks will fall off" thing.

"We accept your challenge, ma'am," I say out of the blue, mainly because Theo's gotta learn you can't really trust metaphors.

"...I don't think you're taking this seriously," he says to me, wide-eyed and a tad worried. "Well, then. One, please."

I let Theo handle our expenses (come on guys he was the one that dumped fucktons of yen coins into paulownia's fountains on our first outing). We come to sit on the bench reserved for paying customers.

"Ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit," Theo says from out of nowhere

(_haha_ _i forgot my date was a walking thermometer_)

"And this texture... there's no mistaking it..."

I look at the kebabed octopus meat in my hand. "It's octopus," _right? Right?_

I look back at him, and his face is sour. "Certainly, there is octopus _in_ it.

(in _it what do you mean_ in_ it_)

"But using_ that_ for cooking... it's apparent now why one's cheeks might fall off..." he shudders, pinches his cheeks. Then he goes for mine, faster than my awesome new reflexes can react to.

"Yours seem to be in no danger. Thank goodness." He looks genuinely relieved. I don't have the heart to tell him that he surprised me, or that it hurt. A _lot_.

"Thank you, Theodore."

"If anything were to happen to you... you are, after all, a valued guest." He strokes my cheek where he'd held it in two elegant gloved fingers.

We leave with a souvenir from Octopia―a little cellphone strap. Theo claims it right off the bat. I don't know if he does have a cell. Maybe he does, seeing as he calls me for announcements regarding Personas and shit.

"Do you _have_ a cellphone?" I ask as soon as we're back to cruising down the strip mall. I don't get an answer. Instead he pulls me out of the way of an incoming car.

(_it's his fault really_)

* * *

**6/25, Thursday, After School**

I never had to do cooking. Never ever ever.

But I do know one thing: it's virtually, physically, completely _im-fucking-possible_ to be as bad as Fuuka is. I have never cooked extensively, but I am _not _as bad as Fuuka is.

(_maybe if she starts to cook it'll probably mess with the natural order of things and wait she did cook so does this mean the world's already FUBAR_)

"Start a cooking club with me, Minako-chan!"

(_NO NO NO NO NO NO NO DON'T LOOK AT HER EYES DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK DON'T LOOK_)

I open my eyes to see a smiling Fuuka Yamagishi. "...yes...?"

I receive a Priestess Social Link.

(_i'm fucked_)

* * *

**6/26, Friday, After School**

Bebe was kinda hot. Kind of, because nobody ain't got nothing on Pharos-blue eyes. But hot because he was a sweet little ball of sunshine and gayness (make that of what you will).

He is my Temperance.

...

In a general moment of asshole-y-ness, I dupe him into saying "I love you" instead of "farewell".

"Eet 'as a lovely ring to eet," he says as he closes the door leading to the laboratory hall.

...

(_i'm an asshole_)

* * *

**Evening**

"There's a missing person. She must have wandered into Tartarus."

"What makes you so sure?"

I bite my lip. Under no cirsumstances must I reveal that the Velvet Room is my information source. "Police bulletin boards. And the news," I say, pointing to the TV. There is a missing persons report on. I consider doing the Freddie Mercury "Nailed It" pose.

In the head seat, Ikutsuki-san looks a bit offended that no one's paying attention to him or his Top Ten (crappy) Jokes.

"I call a rescue party. And since Akihiko-senpai's not here, you all need to help me out."

Everybody stares at me with varying levels of "wtf" in their eyes.

"And yes, I have Traesto gems."

With that, everyone begins prepping. I am shoved out the door to scrounge for more Traesto gems.

(_you think it's _that_ easy you idiots_)

* * *

**Dark Hour**

Missing person Ayako Yoshimoto rescued: 6/26.

* * *

**6/30, Tuesday, Dark Hour**

"No, nope, bzzt, mm-mm, blehhh, shush―"

Pharos opens up his pie hole to breathe. I put a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... I know what you're going to say, so don't bother. Mitsuru is bad enough."

He stares at my finger with an annoyed look on his face. I retract my finger.

"You'll be back, right?" I ask.

"I'm always with you. Always," he responds, then disappears into the shadows.

"Good night," I call out into thin air.


End file.
